Concord – Recent storms brought much needed rain to the Bay Area and snow to the Sierras, but there is still a large hole to fill in this drought. An added challenge for Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) is less fresh water flowing into the Delta which is putting local officials on alert for impacts to water quality.
On Jan. 17, Governor Brown announced a statewide drought emergency and CCWD called on customers to do their part and continue their commitment to water conservation. As part of the statewide drought emergency, further action from the state is reducing outflows to the Delta to preserve resources stored upstream. Less water flowing into the Delta means saltwater from the Bay can work its way further east, a concern for CCWD.
This combination of drought conditions and reduced outflows is impacting water quality at CCWD’s four intakes in the Delta. When salt levels rise at its intakes, CCWD must blend the water with its high-quality reserves at Los Vaqueros Reservoir.
According to CCWD, salt levels at its intakes are rising earlier than normal this year making more releases from Los Vaqueros necessary to maintain the quality of water delivered to customers. This makes efforts to conserve water now even more important.
“CCWD is planning ahead and stepping up the call for conservation in order to reserve more high quality water in Los Vaqueros to help us all weather this drought,” said Joseph L. Campbell, CCWD Board President. He added that, “CCWD customers invested in Los Vaqueros just for this purpose and it is doing its job; but in these unprecedented conditions, we all must to do our part to conserve as well.”
By saving water now, CCWD customers will help reduce the need to draw from Los Vaqueros in the near term and reserve the high quality water stored for use as conditions in the Delta worsen.
How do customers know how they are doing on conserving? Each bill sent to customers contains information on their individual water use, current and historic. More information on available conservation services can be accessed at www.ccwater.com or by contacting Customer Service at (925) 688-8044
